The High Court has dismissed a case by the anti-graft body seeking the forfeiture or more than Sh643 million in assets and funds belonging to Wilson Nashon Kanani, a Nairobi County employee and co-director of popular club- 1824 on Lang’ata Road.
Justice Nixon Sifuna said Mr Kanani and his spouse satisfactorily explained how they acquired the assets and the funds.
While lifting an order freezing the assets and funds in five bank accounts, the judge said Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) failed to prove that Mr Kanani acquired them corruptly or through corrupt conduct.
“I find that the respondents have satisfactorily explained that the assets were acquired genuinely as there is no evidence on record that he (Mr Kanani) is corrupt or engaged on corruption or were acquired through corruption. The explanation and evidence tabled in court is satisfactory,” said the judge.
The EACC said Mr Kanani, the development control officer at the city county had acquired assets worth millions, which does not correspond to his gross monthly salary of Sh85,630.
His roles include regulation of outdoor advertisement, monitoring and surveillance of all outdoor advertisement and calling advertisers to comply with approvals and payments for advertisements.
The EACC said Mr Kanani abused his position of trust by receiving revenue meant for the Nairobi County government through bank accounts held by his private companies and spouse.
The Commission said it concluded investigations and established Mr Kanani and his companies were in possession of unexplained assets amounting to Sh643.2 million.
They include land, motor vehicles, cash recovered and cash deposits. Among the assets are an apartment in Nairobi valued at Sh6.5 million, a house in Busia valued at Sh11.2 Million and land in Naivasha valued at Sh3.5 million.
But the judge pointed out that the only evidence linking Mr Kanani to the alleged corruption was a criminal case in which he was convicted but he appealed against the decision and the sentence quashed.
The judge said the stance taken by EACC that his salary being too meagre to justify the assets and funds in his accounts, was a wrong yardstick.
Justice Sifuna said he begged to disagree that a person’s wealth should only pegged on his or her salary because there are possibilities or making income away from a pay slip.
“A keen public officer who invests his money will have more assets than an executive who spends his otherwise humongous salary on leisure and sin,” said the Judge.
The EACC said Mr Kanani acquired four high-end motor vehicles – Toyota Land cruiser V8, Mercedes Benz E 300, Mercedes Benz E350 and Toyota Alphard in a span of five years.
The anti-graft body further said it investigations his five bank accounts and found that he received cumulative deposits of Sh506 million between January 2016 and October 31, 2022.
Justice Sifuna said Mr Kanani and his spouse supplied the court with statements showing how they acquired the properties.
The judge added that the wife was only joined in the case because of her tie, if for nothing else. He said there no wrongdoing was demonstrated on her part and seeking to crucify a spouse because of marriage was ‘rather ridiculous, oppressive and offensive’.
